


DANGER ZONE

by foxyladycpz



Category: Space Battleship Yamato - Fandom, Space Battleship Yamato 2202 (anime), Starblazers - Fandom, Starblazers 2202, Yamato 2202 - Top Gun crossover, 宇宙戦艦ヤマト, 宇宙戦艦ヤマト2202
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 18:47:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18610372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxyladycpz/pseuds/foxyladycpz
Summary: Cosmo Navy Fighter Weapons (CosmoNFWS) is a silly crossover between Yamato 2202 and Top Gun (aka United States Navy Fighter Weapons School: NFWS).This is an alternative universe and also a kind of prequel. In the anime, Garmillas Embassy and UNCF aircorps are based on the Moon, and that’s how Klaus & Akira happened to cross paths.In this story, Keyman is less serious than in the anime, and even a bit silly -- like he sometimes happens to be in the drama CDs (ノω｀*).





	DANGER ZONE

“What’s this?”

“....This?”

“This aircraft?”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Klaus Keyman was pointing at the sky through the bay window with excitement.

“Ah, this….” Ambassador Barel set down his teacup onto his desk. “This, is the Cosmo Tiger One. Yamamoto Akira’s aircraft.”

“...Yamamoto Akira?”

“A female Instructor on at the Cosmo Navy Fighters Weapon School on UNCF lunar base.”

The Cosmo Navy Fighter Weapons School was Earth Federation Defense Force’s flying school. It was devoted to the rigorous training of the next flight corps generation.

“Wait a minute… Isn’t she the pilot who befriended Lower Storm Leader Melda Dietz ? From the Yamato Flying Corps??”

“That’s right” Barel answered. “This was an unexpected friendship, considering the… conflicted relations between Earth and Garmillas people at this time.” 

The Ambassador was referring to The Garmillas-Earth War waged between the Great Garmillas Empire and the Earth Federation from 2191 to 2199.

An unexpected friendship indeed. This Goddamn war had taken many lives from both sides.

Klaus remained silent for a few seconds, his eyes locked on the aircraft soaring in the sky. The Cosmo Tiger One had an unusual shape, and it seemed more powerful and bigger than any other UNCF aircraft that the Lieutenant had seen until now.

“And she’s an instructor on lunar base?!” Keyman asked again.

“She was their best pilot so, yes.” Barel rose the teacup to his mouth and took a small sip. “You’re asking a lot of questions today Klaus, aren’t you?”

Keyman kept watching Yamamoto’s acrobatic flight with greatest interest.

“It’s just that… I had never seen an aircraft like this before.”

 

* * *

Back to his room at night, Keyman felt the urge to check the Embassy’s secret files about the mysterious Cosmo Tiger One and its pilot.  
For what he had seen earlier, the Cosmo Tiger One had a power and speed that were quite unusual for a UNCF aircraft.

*UNITED NATIONS COSMO FORCES FILES*  
*EARTH FEDERATION DEFENSE FORCES LUNAR BASE FILES*  
*AIRCRAFTS DATA FILES*  
*COSMO TIGER ONE*  
***CLASSIFIED***

COSMO TIGER one (former name: COSMO ONE)  
Original built : 2185.  
Originally produced by the Mars Independence Army.  
Was restored in 2200 by UNCF to compete against a next-generation tactical combat fighter named Cosmo Two.  
After operational tests, was redeveloped into Cosmo Tiger one.

Known specifications :  
Current class : prototype.  
Length: 26.3m  
Main engine: axial flow type cosmo engine x 2  
Main armament:  
mini missile pod (24 built-in rounds) x 2  
large missile pod (6 built-in rounds) x 2  
beam cannon x 2  
Single-seat.  
High-mobility fighter craft.  
Can fly within in atmosphere and in space.  
Its fuselage has a biplane system that expands in order to load as many varied armaments as possible.  
In addition to two high-output positronic cannons, it carries several types of missiles in large quantities. Installed at various points, its high-mobility thrusters give it superior performance. 

Observation notes :  
The Cosmo Tiger one is fundamentally different from the conventional fighters of the Earth Federation Defense Forces.  
Extremely complex to maneuver; makes prolonged combat unbearable on the pilot.  
Though its high potential was proven, its extreme handling characteristics and incompatible size made it impractical for operation as a carrier-based aircraft.  
For these reasons, it was rejected by the Earth Federation Defense Forces as being too complex and relegated to high-mobility training operations.  
The Cosmo Tiger one was however approved for pilot operation at the moon base.  
It’s currently used at Cosmo Navy Fighters Weapons School in student pilots training, and functioning as a hypothetical enemy craft.  
Its development as a competition prototype continues while it serves as a training machine at the lunar base.  
Designated test Pilot : Yamamoto Akira.

“I see...”, Keyman thought to himself . “The Cosmo Tiger One is so powerful and complex, it seems absolutely impossible to manage. Impossible for anyone... but Yamamoto?”

The Lieutenant quickly switched to Yamamoto’s file. Who was she exactly?

*UNITED NATIONS COSMO FORCES FILES*  
*EARTH FEDERATION DEFENSE FORCES LUNAR BASE FILES*  
*PERSONNEL FILES*  
*YAMAMOTO AKIRA*  
***CLASSIFIED***

Name: Yamamoto Akira  
Nickname: Rei  
Born: 2179-2180 Arcadia Port, Mars.

“She’s a Marsnoid?” Keyman taped his chin, intrigued, before continuing his reading.

Observation notes :  
Ace pilot.  
Former member of the Yamato Flying Corps.  
Currently Instructor at the Cosmo Navy Fighters Weapon School on UNCF lunar base.  
Serves as test pilot of the Cosmo Tiger one since 2200.

And that was pretty much all about Yamamoto Akira's career in the UNCF. After all, Yamamoto Akira was a young woman. She was around the Lieutenant's age.

Family : none.  
Her brother Yamamoto Akio was member of the Pilot Squadron ; died fighting the Great Garmillas Empire.  
Her parents got killed by planet bombs used by the Great Garmillas Empire to eradicate all life on Earth during Garmillas-Earth War.

Reading the facts about Yamamoto's family, Keyman suddenly felt heavy-hearted. The Garmillas-Earth war had literally annihilated Yamamoto's family. In the light of this tragic past, Yamamoto's friendship with Dietz sounded even more peculiar. 

And on a side note, she was an orphan. Just like Keyman. Of course, Ambassador Barel had always been a father figure ; but still, Keyman's dad had died before he was even born, and when he was barely a teen his mother had died in misery, banished by Lord Desler.

Keyman sighed and took a closer look at the portrait picture of Yamamoto Akira attached to her file.  
She was really pretty.  
Toned skin, silver hair, and red eyes like he had never never seen before.  
There was a sweet melancholy in her gaze.

* * *

The Cosmo Tiger One came back the day after. 

The entire site of the Garmillas Embassy on the Moon and its upper airspace were treated as the territory and airspace of Garmillas. Same for the UNCF lunar base.

But, right between the UNCF lunar base, and the Garmillas Embassy, there was a neutral restricted area, shared between both the UNCF base and the Garmillas Embassy. No shooting, nor bombing were allowed in this area. For this reason, that was of no real interest to the Cosmo Navy Fighter Weapons School, and it was neglected. Except by Yamamoto, who was occasionally using it as manoeuvring zone, all alone.

As soon as she was off duty, she often took the opportunity to hop back into the Cosmo Tiger One and rack up extraneous flying time. She kinda enjoyed this free time. Yamamoto was a lone wolf who didn’t mind a bit of solitude. 

Rising, descending, rolling, Yamamoto was pushing the Cosmo Tiger One to terrifying limits, and honing her own skills as well. Her maneuvers were way more extreme than any other pilote but her would be able to endure.

Suddenly, an unknown aircraft appeared on the Cosmo Tiger One radar.  
Yamamoto couldn’t identify friend or foe but, as soon as the fighter came to her sight distance, she immediately recognized the aircraft type.  
A DWG262 Czvarke Astro Combat Fighter. It was the main single-seat fighter used by most Garmillas Imperial Astro Fleet aviation units.

Except that this Czvarke had the Garmillas Embassy livery – light grey colour scheme with a tribal pattern made of purple arabesques.

“Garmillas…” Yamamoto frowned. She couldn’t help but have a bad feeling whenever she crossed path with Garmillan people. This was somehow irrational, since Garmillians and Earthlings were at peace and allies. In addition, there was absolutely nothing to fear from an Embassy aircraft. But still, she couldn’t help to feel slightly nervous.

Of course, the Czvarke was unarmed. Weapons of any kind were strictly prohibited in this area. The Czvarke approached pilot-side of Yamamoto's aircraft, matching its speed and heading. The Cosmo Tiger One was really huge – almost twice the size of the Czvarke.

A few moments later, Keyman started flashing the navigation lights, and tried to contact Yamamoto on the radio. 

“Good evening. Wanna play dogfight?” a cheerful masculine voice echoed into the Cosmo Tiger One cockpit.

“Who are you?” Yamamoto radioed back.

“I’m Lieutenant Keyman, from the Garmillas Embassy. But today, you can call me Bandit ” the voice answered, again with this unexpectedly cheerful tone.

Yamamoto involuntary chuckled. 'Bandit' was the code name for an enemy aircraft. Whoever he was, and funny he seemed to be, the Czvarke pilot had some guts, requesting air-to-air combat simulation at close range just like this. 

But… why not after all? It had been a while, since Yamamoto had been confronted to an alien fighter jet.

The Cosmo Tiger one rocked wings and flashed navigation lights in return to acknowledge that the challenge was accepted.

Keyman immediately initiated a slow, level turn.  
―― Follow me. 

Yamamoto matched heading and followed right after; the pursuit began. “Alright, Lieutenant… Bandit. Engaging combat.”

Keyman knew that the Cosmo Tiger One had superior engine power and speed, and he quickly made the decision of initiating a flat scissors – a series of short turns towards the attacking aircraft, slowing with each turn. It was a classical aerial defensive maneuver, and also a test.

Keyman knew that in a real combat situation, it might be difficult, as the bandit, to disengage from a flat scissors without being exposed to danger from the weapons of the attacking aircraft. But, if performed properly, it could cause the Cosmo Tiger One to move far enough in front --in other words, forcing Yamamoto to overshoot-- and allow Keyman to attack.

The Lieutenant alternatively used power reduction, uncoordinated flight, flaps, slats, speed brakes without moving out of the initial plane of the attack. By doing so, Keyman might have been able to quickly place the Cosmo Tiger One into a position in which a successful attack cannot be made due to close proximity. 

Keyman knew he could easily turn the scissors to his advantage -- his objective using the flat scissors maneuver was only to coerce to Cosmo Tiger One to overshoot, or to reduce its speed. 

Well, at least, theoretically.

But this would have been way too easy. And wrongly underestimating Yamamoto’s skill.

Yamamoto let the Lieutenant “Bandit” Keyman play his little game for a few seconds. Of course she would quickly overshoot the Czvarke at this rate. So, she rapidly pull up into a high yo-yo -- making a climbing turn in the same direction as the Czvarke's horizontal turn.

The high Yo-Yo was a very effective maneuver, and very difficult to counter. Yamamoto pulled back on the stick, bringing the Cosmo Tiger One up into a new plane of travel. Then she rolled into a steeper pitch turn, climbing above the Czvarke. The trade-off between airspeed and altitude provided the Cosmo Tiger One with a burst of increased maneuverability. Then, Yamamoto pulled in behind Keyman, and locked onto the Czvarke’s tail.

Easy. A well-done job.

"Beep.... beep....” The lock on sound alarm was resonating into the Czvarke’s cockpit, and "Bandit” seemed to do nothing to break the radar lock.

“Beep, beep, beep, beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep". Continuous beep, full lock

Yamamoto’s voice creaked into the radio. 

“Let’s bring all this to an end, Bandit. Tracking shot, 3, 2, 1…. you’re dea------.”

But at this very moment, Keyman performed an extremely tight loop, not much wider than the own length of the Czvarke itself, fully using his aircraft’s post-stall maneuvering capabilities.

“A Kulbit?!”

Yamamoto instantly recognized the maneuver from her piloting manuals. But she had never seen it performed in aerial combat, neither in simulations.

The brilliantly executed manoeuver drastically decreased the Czvarke's speed and caused the pursuing Cosmo Tiger One to overshoot its target. 

The unorthodox maneuver took Yamamoto by surprise. That’s it. Close-range slow-speed supermaneuverability was the Czvarke’s greatest asset, and she had absolutely no clue about it.

Keyman swiftly positioned himself behind Yamamoto, and gave the throttle a gentle nudge. The Czvarke had absolutely no trouble maintaining stable flight despite the turbulence created by Yamamoto’s aircraft. The Lieutenant kept on until the nose of the Czvarke was close enough to the Cosmo Tiger One’s tail to --theoretically-- fire a weapon. 

Perfect aim.  
――Gotcha. ♥

Seems it was the Lieutenant’s turn to lock on -- if he wanted to. 

Yet, he didn’t. Instead, Keyman did a roll over the top of Yamamoto’s aircraft, positioning the Czvarke’s cockpit just above the Cosmo Tiger One Canopy. 

Yamamoto’s eyes widened in stupor. Seriously?! How ballsy was that?

The aircrafts were now both at Idle with their speed brakes out. Keyman raised his visor and looked at Yamamoto, waving his hand to greet her. The Ace did the same, locking eye contact with the Lieutenant. She had incredible red eyes.  
――No hard feelings.

Keyman smiled cheerfully. Not that he was mocking Yamamoto, nor was being unreasonable proud of himself; he felt genuinely happy.

“It was a pleasure being your chase, Instructor.”

“Likewise, Bandit.”

“Lieutenant Keyman.” A voice suddenly came from the Czvarke’s radio. “You are breaking the protocole. Please return to Embassy.”

“Roger”, Keyman answered. Then, to Yamamoto : “See you later.” And he broke off.

The scarlet-eyed pilot spoke her last words on the radio whilst also performing the breakaway maneuver, and headed back to the lunar base. “Yamamoto, leaving the frequency, goodbye.” 

 

* * *

“What was going on up there?”

Shinohara, as well as most of the lunar base Aircorp, hadn't missed a single bit of the show that Yamamoto and her mysterious opponent just provided.

“Who’s that guy?”

“He’s from the Garmillas Embassy” Yamamoto answered.

She frowned and turned to the student pilots who were whispering behind her back. “Don’t you have better things to do? Back to your stations!”

“What did he want?” Shinohara continued asking once the crowd left.

“Nothing more than what you just saw. An informal combat simulation. He wasn’t hostile, though. I guess the Cosmo Tiger One just picked his curiosity.”

Yamamoto paused. She felt nostalgic for some reason. Her dogfight with Keyman had reminded her of her good times with Melda Dietz. Melda also used to fly a Czvarke. A red painted one, which was her signature aircraft. She was pretty skilled, too. Yamamoto missed her.

“Shinohara, you flew a Czvarke once during the Balun recognition mission. How was it?” Yamamoto asked.

“I can’t really tell since we had it reprogrammed and it was running on a very simplified version of the system. But for what I remember…”

Shinohara paused during a short moment, gathering his memories back.

“It had a wonderful acceleration, and G-forces were hard to take. Piloting this aircraft was physically difficult and mentally demanding.I didn’t think I’d survive that. Nonetheless, the Czvarke took me back alive to the Yamato, and I will forever be thankful for that. But now that you’re pointing it… it was quite maneuverable, indeed.... Yet, I didn’t have the opportunity nor the time to test its limits.”

“I see. Well, for what I've just witnessed, the Czvarke has obviously the ability to perform high alpha maneuvers that are impossible for most aircraft.”

“I saw that” Shinohara chuckled. “That was a pretty interesting move. This guy got you.”

“Oi, give me a break.”

Akira remembered not being this much interested into the Czvarke at that time. But now, she was somehow regretting not flying one when she'd had the opportunity. 

“Come on, don’t be this sulky, Yamamoto . As your wingman, I know you. And I can tell, you had pretty much fun up there.”

Yamamoto chuckled. “Well, it was... interesting. This Garmillian pilot… he's not a rookie for sure. He began flying by the book, but I know he was just testing me. Next… his movements began to be unpredictable, and then he made this unbelievable maneuver.”

Shinohara addressed Yamamoto a fond smile. He knew the Ace was pretty hard to catch – and not easy to impress, too. 

“ Did he ? Well, in that case, let me tell you that your new Garmillian friend is just like you.”

* * *

“Lieutenant Keyman, can you please tell me what were you doing there?”

Keyman was standing at attention into the Ambassador’s office. He could tell Barel was upset just by hearing the Ambassador call him “Lieutenant” instead of “Klaus” like he casually used to.

Keyman cleared his throat before answering. “Keeping up foreign relations… Sir?”

Barel frowned with an exasperated sigh. “Lieutenant Keyman, you just did an incredibly brave thing. You performed air-to-air combat at close range in a strictly restricted area.”

“I was just simulating, Sir.”

Barel burst out laughing at Keyman's boldness. The Ambassador had always considered Klaus like his own son, and he was unable to keep a straight face any longer.

“Enough Klaus, dismiss. Have a seat. Now just tell me: what is it with you?

“I just wanted to compete with the Cosmo Tiger One and its pilot.” Keyman answered honestly.

Barel shook his head. Keyman was far from being a rookie, indeed. He didn't take part in the Garmillas-Earth War, but he had earned his wings and achieved acedom in the shadows of the Garmillas Internal Affairs and Intelligence Division. His talent, combined with hours of practice time, had fueled his fighter pilot ego. 

However, Barel knew that Keyman was currently suffering a lack of training, and the pretty low threat of attack over Garmillas Embassy wasn't helping for sure. Besides, the Lieutenant really loved flying. Then, no real wonder that he had caught the opportunity to approach the Cosmo Tiger One as soon as it had shown up again. Keyman had sounded so excited earlier, Barel should have seen it coming.

“Don’t mess with the Cosmo Navy, Klaus. You're one hell of an instinctive pilot. Maybe too good. I should ground you but I can't. I've got another problem here.”

Barel paused a few seconds, then continued in a serious tone.

“You have made the UNCF lunar base Commander really upset. They didn’t appreciate that the Garmillas Embassy approached this close their precious prototype. I’ve been… Gosh, I…I still can't believe it. I’ve been asked to send you to the lunar base. For the sake of mutual cooperation and good neighbourly relations.”

“… Ah !?” Keyman let out a small cry of surprise. 

“You are going to the Cosmo Navy Fighters Weapon School. You, and your Czvarke. You wanted to compete? I’m going to give you your dream shot! You'll be flying against the best fighter pilots of the United Nations Cosmo Forces.” 

Keyman couldn't suppress the shiver of excitement that ran up his spine.

“Seems that Instructor Yamamoto herself interceded in your favor” Barel continued. “The lunar base Commander requested… disciplinary action at first, but she persuaded him that you’d be far more useful training their student pilots. Learning them a few of your tricks. So, consider yourself lucky, so far. I don’t know what happened exactly up there between you two, but seems you have made a great impression on her. And….” 

Barel turned to Klaus and suddenly stopped talking for a few seconds. The Lieutenant seemed to be extremely happy about this unexpected turn of event.

“Oh my goodness Klaus, what is it with this cute face? Are you blushing ?”

“... I'm not blushing !!!” Keyman denied vehemently.

“Oh, yes, you totally are !” Barel chuckled. “My my, don't tell me that you're having a crush on Instructor Yamamoto !”

“Ambassador !!!” Keyman was now beyond embarrassment and almost whined in despair. 

Barel smiled in amusement. Geez! His protégé was impossible!

“Klaus, whatever. Just… be careful and take care of yourself, ok? Don’t crash and burn.”

“I will do my best, Sir!” Keyman saluted.


End file.
